BY Busola Aro
Canal+ Group, a French TV channel, has offered to buy all the shares in South Africa’s MultiChoice for $1.69 billion.
According Reuters, Canal+, in a statement on Thursday, said it has already submitted a proposal to this effect.
Canal+, a top shareholder in MultiChoice with a 31.67 percent stake, according to data on London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), said it would likely pay 105 rand in cash per share — a 40 percent premium to MultiChoice’s closing share price on Wednesday.
The French firm said its offer, worth 31.7 billion rand ($1.69 billion), was non-binding and indicative.
The company is expected to deliver a letter of firm intention to MultiChoice’s board once due diligence has been completed.
“MultiChoice to continue to thrive in Africa will require a strategy that enhances its scale as well as strengthened local and global expertise,” Maxime Saada, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Canal Plus, said in a statement.
“Our potential offer, if successful, would be an important next step for MultiChoice to realise its full potential.”
Confirming the development, MultiChoice, which operates in 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said it had received a letter from the French media company and would update shareholders on any developments.
Canal+ is a subsidiary of Vivendi SE, a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris.
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